The Littlest Witch
by The Raider
Summary: Tara was sure that her Willow was gone forever, stolen from her in a cruel twist of fate. But it's funny how the Hellmouth has a way of bringing people back to one another, even in the strangest of ways...COMPLETE.


**A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry for the couple months of not really posting anything. I was taking a break, plus doing some stuff in real life. But now I'm back! :D This chapter is a little short, but the coming ones will be the usual length of 4,000-5,000. Hope you all enjoy :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or any of the characters. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. **

* * *

**The Littlest Witch **

"Tara!" Willow shrieked as she watched the Demon charged at Tara, the monster's clawed hand raised above its head. Her blue eyes widening as she saw the distance between herself and the Demon rapidly decreasing, every thought in Tara's mind told her to run, to get out of the way. And yet, every muscle in her body refuse to move, rooting her to the spot where she stood. Her eyes watching helplessly, Willow raised her hand, the Latin words to the spell already leaving her lips. As a fireball erupted around her fingertips, she threw it towards the Demon, the monster already standing in front of Tara. The flames impacting upon the Demon's skin, Willow wasn't surprised to hear a loud shriek escape from the monster's mouth. It's hand dropping to the rubble beneath both itself and the Scooby, the giant turned its blood-shot eyes onto its attacker.

"Tara run!" Willow screamed as more and more fireballs began to emerge from her clenched fingers. _"JUST RUN!"_

Her body finally beginning to answer her commands, Tara rushed towards where both Giles and Xander were trying to help Anya onto her feet, the former Demon groaning from the slight pain in her injured legs. Finally retrieving her sword from where the Demon had tossed it, Buffy rushed towards it, slashing the bladed weapon in a wide arc in front of her. The weapon slicing through the Demon's arm, the Slayer brought the sword back, intent on delivering another blow. As if it had anticipated the second attack, the Demon brought its sole remaining arm around, the limb slamming into the woman's body, throwing her off her feet and into the closest wall.

"Buffy!" Willow shouted, trying to get her friend's attention. Having become momentarily free of any attackers, the Demon raised its unsevered limb, it's long fingers curling around its palm. Muttering some words in its own, native language, it closed it's red eyes as it's finger shot downwards quickly. As if it had ripped a hole in the air itself, a splash of orange and red began to appear, making a hole as if it were a paper cut. The colors swirling in the air as they expanded into a large circle, the Demon took a large step towards it, it's full attention focused on approaching it.

"You know, didn't your Mommy ever tell you that it's not nice to throw people?" Buffy sounded out, the sword in her hands shooting upwards until it embedded itself into the monster's chest. It's remaining hand shooting up to where the blade had emerged from it's chest, the Demon shrieked loudly, the pain in it's voice overpowering any other sound in the immediate vicinity around it. Pulling the sword out of the Demon's chest, Buffy's brows furrowed is disdain as some of the monster's blood found its way onto her shirt and jacket.

As the demon fell to the ground, coming to rest on its side, Buffy looked into the portal, the colors mesmerizing her for a single second before something slammed into her body, knocking her backwards until she finally came down hard on the ground. Feeling the same energy crash into them as well, Giles, Anya, Tara, and Xander all felt their legs fall out from under them, sending them also falling to the cold ground underneath them.

_Willow.._.Her head snapping forward as she heard a voice call out her name, Willow's eyes widened as she saw how large the portal had become in such a small amount of time. And it was still growing, the size of the portal already becoming hardly contained by the warehouse they found themselves in.

_Willow..._As the portal called her name again, the red-headed Witch found herself taking a step towards it, her steps slow and cautious.

"Willow?" Tara asked, the Witch struggling to return to her feet. Turning towards where her love was lying, Willow's gaze rapidly switched between both the portal itself and Tara. Hearing the portal calling out her name over and over again inside her head, she could feel her heart wanting to explode inside her chest.

"Tara...it wants me..." She said, the voice calling her name beginning to increase in both volume and intensity. "I...I can hear it..."

"Willow, no..." Tara responded, her efforts to get back onto her feet only increasing. "Don't listen to it!"

"Tara...I...I have to go into it..." Taking another step towards the swirling portal, Willow never once took her gaze off of her girl. "I...I have to. I can stop it."

"Willow, are you _crazy?!"_ Buffy shouted, the rubble that had fallen on her legs making it nearly impossible for her to stand up. Feeling another blast of Magicks crash into her body, she grunted as her body was pushed further into the rubble. "Don't listen to it!"

"Buffy...I have to..." Her feet moving her one more step towards the portal, Willow closed her eyes for the faintest of seconds before she reopened them to look at Tara. "Tara...please...it'll kill everyone..."

"Willow..." Tara said, her mouth opening and closing after the word numerous times, although neither sound nor word emerged. It was as if her brain were trying to compose an argument, trying to think of an alternative to Willow entering the portal. There had to be another way, some way that would make it so that her Willowtree wouldn't have to leave, wouldn't have to sacrifice herself.

"Tara...I'm sorry...I have to..." Her steps having brought her closer and closer to the portal, the red-headed Witch was less than a single step from walking into the swirling orange and red mix. "Baby, I...I can save you..."

As she stepped through the portal, Willow's eyes slammed shut as the Magicks behind the swirling red and orange object tugged on her. Watching with tear-filled eyes as she crawled towards her girl on her injured body's own power, Tara's hands helplessly reached out for her girl, wanting to hold her one last time.

_"Willow!"_ She shrieked, her voice breaking numerous times in the process. "Willow, sweetie, please!"

"I love you!" The red-head answered back, her voice straining to be heard over the sound of the portal, its sound indescribable to the human ear. _Please...be safe...forgive me..._

As she shrieked Willow's name one last time, Tara's eyes widened as she found herself looking into her girl's face and then...nothing. the entire area where both her beloved Willowtree and the portal had been only moments before now held only empty space.

"Tara?" Anya asked, having finally managed to emerge from the rubble where she had been momentarily buried under.

"Willow..." Was the name leaving Tara's lips with every inch of pain she felt in her body and heart. "Willow..."

* * *

"Willow..." Tara said, her fingers reaching out and tracing the name on the headstone, the familiar letters she knew by heart. "Hi sweetie...I came to see you."

It had been almost a year now since her girl, her love, had been stolen from her. In front of her eyes, she had watched as that bullet had ripped the light out of her girl. If she closed her eyes, she could still see the way she had fallen, how the front of her white shirt had turned bright red...

"I miss you...so much." She said, hoping that her girl could hear her from the Summerlands. "I think about you every day...about your smile, your hair, your eyes...

"I think about _you."_ She continued, forcing a small smile to her face as she pulled some of the weeds away from the grave. Only the best for her girl. "Dawnie misses you too. She's graduating soon. She's already been accepted to college too. You'd be so proud of her..."

She bit her lower lip, trying to keep herself from crying. She couldn't, not here. She couldn't let her girl see her cry...

"…she's been doing so well in all of her classes." She continued, her tone noticeably shaken as she tried to keep herself together. "I got a new apartment in town. It's closer to you, I can look out the window and see you…Every morning, I can wake up, and you're here, still with me.

"…I miss you so much, sweetie. There are days I wake up and I can't breathe knowing you're here, and I'm still…still…" She left the sentence unfinished, closing her eyes as she bowed her head for the smallest of moments. Wiping a tear away onto her sleeve, Tara looked up again, tracing the name on the headstone with her fingers. "I don't know if this is getting easier…all I want is to have you back, just for a minu-"

Falling silent as she saw something bright out of the corner of her eye, Tara furrowed her brows, her gaze lifting itself from Willow's headstone. As the light started to grow brighter and brighter, she slowly began to rise back onto her feet, her eyes never once left the light. Taking a few cautious steps, she tilted her head, unsure of what it was she was looking at. Was it some kind of light that someone at installed at their loved ones' grave? Just the moon reflecting something?

As she moved closer and closer to the light, she felt something strong crash into her, something that felt very much like Magicks. Powerful ones. Falling to her knees, she covered her eyes as the light exploded into a blinding force. As quickly as it appeared, it also disappeared. Opening her eyes as she slowly moved her arm away, she squinted, trying to recover her vision in the dark. She could hear...crying? Was that what it was? Was there someone else with her in the graveyard?

"Hello?" She called out, wanting to know if someone was in trouble. She might not be able to do much, but at least she could do _something._ "Anybody there? Are you ok?"

_"I want my Mommy!"_ Was the answer, the cry unmistakably childish in its sound. Frowning at the idea of a child being alone in the dark, and in a graveyard, of all places, the woman rushed towards the sound's origin. As she came closer, the first thing she noticed was a head of fiery red hair, reminding her of her lost love. Slowly easing herself down onto her knees in an attempt not to frighten her, Tara looked at the young girl, noticing that she was covered in dirt, as if she had been fighting with someone, or had been lying here for some time.

"Hey there..." She said, her tone soft and warm. "It's ok...we'll find your Mommy..."

"I don't know where she is..." The red-headed child answered, sniffling as she continued to cry. "I wanna be with her!"

"I promise you will, honey. Let's get you cleaned up first though, ok, you're all dirty...Once we get you cleaned up, we'll find your Mommy ok?" Tara responded, holding out her hand for the child. "I'll carry you, if you want."

"Y-You will?" The child asked, opening her eyes to look at this woman who was offering to help her. Looking at those green eyes, Tara felt a small pang in her heart, noticing that they were nearly identical to her Willowtree's. For a split second, hope seized her heart, making her wonder if the child sitting in front of her was her Willow, if the Goddess had sent her back. Shaking her head slightly at the thought, she offered the girl a warm smile. This wasn't her Willow, this little girl couldn't be more than four years old.

"I promise. Here, let's just get you somewhere where it's warm, ok?" Tara answered, giving the red-head another reassuring smile as she saw the girl's small arms extend outwards to her. Carefully picking the child up, she almost automatically began to rub her back, knowing that Willow had once found it comforting. Slowly walking towards the gates, she allowed herself one last look at her love's head-stone, wanting to make sure that she knew she still loved her.

"What's your name, honey?" Tara asked, her free hand that wasn't supporting the girl continuing to rub her back. "Mine's Tara."

What she didn't expect to hear was the child's answer, and as the girl's name ran through her mind, her eyes widened.

"Willow…I'm Willow..."


End file.
